There are a few items that can be created with components gathered in your travels.
These items can be useful and make great additions to equipment

Prospecting Siv

Right click on sand, gravel, grass or dirt to start siving.
Continue until a GUI appears
The screen displays ore concentration over the area
it only displays ores that are availble
It goes 16 every direction sky to bed(33x33 around)

Prospecting Chisel

IN CONFIG: turn hidden ores on before generating a world
hidden ores appear exactly the same as stone
Right click to uncover these. the found ores can be mined with the chisel

Apron

Protects against fire spread by your forge

Hafts and Glue

Needed to create tools and weapons

Repair hammers

Made of various materials depending on the item you wish to repair

Tools

Sharp Rock - made with 1 dirt; first very important tool! Can cap vines and needed for various primitive tools and weapons.

Knife - used for tanning leather and making delicious meals on a counter

Scythe - For hardcore farmers and forresters, the scythe cuts grass, crops, and leaves in a large radius around the player

Mattock - although capable of mining dirt and stone, its primary use is turning dirt and sand into roads (which can be rightclicked with cobblestone for aditional fanciness)

Rake - for lazy players who hate running aroud to pick things up, the rake sweeps them to you with a rightclick

Saw - for hardcore forresters, the saw cuts through logs with ease, and quickly destroys leaves while suffering no additional damage. t can also be sharpened. The saw has less durability and is better used for cutting down those stubborn big trees

Roads / Hoe, Spade

A hoe can turn tilled dirt into roads
Right click on roads with cobblestone to make a cobblestone road
Right click on roads with any spade to make a half block

Special coal

These are designed for forges.
For furnaces: Hotter coals will last longer(as furnaces regulate heat, burning hotter fuels slower. meaning a really hot coal lasts longer than a slow burning coal